Professional profile in veterinary oncology: A Brazilian nationwide survey.

INTRODUCTION: Veterinary oncology is constituted mainly by human-use drugs with hazardous agents. Occupational risks are present in all stages of handling. Many studies highlighted that veterinarians and pharmacists staff present a lack of knowledge and insufficient structure for promoting safety practices. This study investigated the professional profile and structure of veterinary antineoplastic chemotherapy in Brazilian services. METHODS: A nationwide survey was carried out through digital platforms by a self-applicable from 2020 to 2021. The characteristics of the structure, facilities, professional profiles, practices related to antineoplastic chemotherapy services, and inspections provided by regulatory companies were investigated. Frequency and ranges were used to examine and describe data. RESULTS: This study analyzed 108 respondents from all Brazilian regions where 36 participants worked in veterinary oncology. Dogs and cats comprised more than 90% of animals assisted. Vincristine, doxorubicin, carboplatin, vinblastine, and cyclophosphamide were the most commonly used drugs. Considering pharmacists-led (n = 4) vs veterinarians-led (n = 18) services, structure with safety for handling hazardous drugs (4 vs 9), correct PPE usage (3 vs 0), and occurrence of occupational accident (0 vs 5) were registered. Almost 60% were dissatisfied with the structure and the managerial unwillingness to promote facility improvements. The majority of participants reported an absence of service inspection. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated worrying concerning the inadequacy of the physical structure of the facilities, human resources, and handling hazardous drugs increased occupational health risk. The lack of competent authority standards and supervision corroborates practices that expose professionals, the population, and the environment to hazardous agents.

Socioeconomic disparities associated with symptomatic Zika virus infections in pregnancy and congenital microcephaly: A spatiotemporal analysis from Goiânia, Brazil (2016 to 2020).

The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic, which was followed by an unprecedented outbreak of congenital microcephaly, emerged in Brazil unevenly, with apparent pockets of susceptibility. The present study aimed to detect high-risk areas for ZIKV infection and microcephaly in Goiania, a large city of 1.5 million inhabitants in Central-West Brazil. Using geocoded surveillance data from the Brazilian Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) and from the Public Health Event Registry (RESP-microcefalia), we analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution and socioeconomic indicators of laboratory confirmed (RT-PCR and/or anti-ZIKV IgM ELISA) symptomatic ZIKV infections among pregnant women and clinically confirmed microcephaly in neonates, from 2016 to 2020. We investigated temporal patterns by estimating the risk of symptomatic maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly per 1000 live births per month. We examined the spatial distribution of maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly cases across the 63 subdistricts of Goiania by manually plotting the geographical coordinates. We used spatial scan statistics estimated by discrete Poisson models to detect high clusters of maternal ZIKV infection and microcephaly and compared the distributions by socioeconomic indicators measured at the subdistrict level. In total, 382 lab-confirmed cases of maternal ZIKV infections, and 31 cases of microcephaly were registered in the city of Goiania. More than 90% of maternal cases were reported between 2016 and 2017. The highest incidence of ZIKV cases among pregnant women occurred between February and April 2016. A similar pattern was observed in the following year, although with a lower number of cases, indicating seasonality for ZIKV infection, during the local rainy season. Most congenital microcephaly cases occurred with a time-lag of 6 to 7 months after the peak of maternal ZIKV infection. The highest estimated incidence of maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly were 39.3 and 2.5 cases per 1000 livebirths, respectively. Districts with better socioeconomic indicators and with higher proportions of self-identified white inhabitants were associated with lower risks of maternal ZIKV infection. Overall, the findings indicate heterogeneity in the spatiotemporal patterns of maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly, which were correlated with seasonality and included a high-risk geographic cluster. Our findings identified geographically and socio-economically underprivileged groups that would benefit from targeted interventions to reduce exposure to vector-borne infections.

Avaliação da farmacoterapia no âmbito hospitalar veterinário como ferramenta de promoção na segurança do paciente / Evaluation of pharmacotherapy in the veterinary hospital as a tool to promote patient safety / Avaliação da farmacoterapia fora do ambiente de hospital veterinário como meio de promover a segurança do paciente

RESUMO Introdução: Os serviços farmacêuticos contribuem na prevenção e resolução de erros relacionados ao uso de medicamentos. No âmbito veterinário os protocolos relacionados à segurança do paciente, especificamente quanto ao uso seguro e racional de medicamentos não são bem definidos. Objetivo: Avaliar a farmacoterapia em um hospital veterinário universitário de uma instituição de ensino superior. Resultados: Verificou-se que no ambiente hospitalar veterinário, existe prescrições de medicamentos inadequados e desnecessários para uso. Bem como a detecção de problemas relacionados a medicamentos do tipo: erros na prescrição, medicamentos não padronizados, doses erradas, duplicidade de terapêuticas e potenciais interações medicamentosas.

SUMMARY Introduction: Pharmaceutical services contribute to the prevention and resolution of errors related to the use of medicines. In the veterinary field, protocols related to patient safety, specifically regarding the safe and rational use of medications, are not well defined. Aim: To evaluate pharmacotherapy in a university veterinary hospital of a higher education institution. Results: It was found that in the veterinary hospital environment, there are prescriptions for inappropriate and unnecessary medications for use. As well as the detection of problems related to medications of the type: errors in prescription, non-standard medications, wrong doses, duplication of therapies and potential drug interactions.

RESUMEN Introducción: Los servicios farmacéuticos contribuyen a la prevención y resolución de errores relacionados con el uso de medicamentos. En el campo veterinario, los protocolos relacionados con la seguridad del paciente, específicamente, el uso seguro y racional de los medicamentos no están bien definidos. Objetivo: Evaluar la farmacoterapia en un hospital veterinario universitario de una institución de educación superior. Resultados: Se encontró que en el ámbito hospitalario veterinario existen prescripciones de medicamentos inadecuadas e innecesarias para su uso. Así como la detección de problemas relacionados con medicamentos como: errores de prescripción, medicamentos no estándar, dosis incorrectas, duplicación de terapias y posibles interacciones medicamentosas.